Hail to the Dinosaurs!
He was the captain of the chess team and a
bit of a bookworm.
In addition to chess and books, he loved to
swim. So he went out for the swim team.
But he had trouble making proper turns in
the pool -- which is bad news for a kid who
wants to be a competitive swimmer. It's
sort of like wanting to play baseball and
not being able to hit a curve ball.
His swim coach was less than happy with
him.
One day, the coach uttered these fateful
words:
"Kid, forget it. You'll never be a swimmer.
You've got no intestinal fortitude. You know
what that means? You've got no guts."
Twelve years later, the kid represented the
United States in the 1948 Olympic Games
in London.
Not in swimming -- but in wrestling!
In the semi-final match, he suffered a
crippling injury -- a severe muscle and
tendon tear in his chest.
He won the match, but afterwards he could
barely move. Pain ripped through his body
with every breath.
His coach told him to forfeit the gold medal
match.
"No way," he replied.
He went into the final match bandaged like a
mummy -- and challenged one of the very
best wrestlers in the world.
He won the match -- and the Olympic gold
medal.
His name was Henry Wittenberg, and he was
one of the greatest amateur wrestlers who
ever lived.
"No guts?" Not hardly.
I don't know the name of the high school swim
coach who told Henry Wittenberg he had "no
guts" -- but I do know this: People remember
Henry Wittenberg. No one remembers the swim
coach.
As always, thanks for reading and have a great
day. If you train today, make it a good one!
Yours in strength,
Brooks Kubik
P.S. Henry Wittenberg built tremendous strength
with old-school, Dino-style barbell and dumbbell
training -- the kind we cover in Dinosaur Training:
Lost Secrets of Strength and Development:
http://www.brookskubik.com/dinosaur_training.html
P.S. 2. My other books and courses are right
here -- along with links to my e-books on
Kindle:
http://www.brookskubik.com/products.html
P.S. 3. Thought for the day: "Don't ever listen
to someone who tells you you can't do it."
-- Brooks Kubik
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